Welcome to Active Reading—Getting the most out of your text!
Lets begin.
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You are probably wondering what exactly is meant by the term “active reading”. Well,
simply put, active reading can be described as “reading with an awareness of a
purpose for
reading”.
When you are reading actively, you are engaged in the material, thinking about the
information you are trying to take in. You are making a conscious and continuous
effort to
understanding the material you are reading and to relate it to other information or
knowledge you already have.
You are also engaged in an on-going process of asking questions of the material you
are
reading, and seeking answers to questions that you may have already had about the
topic.
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PQ4R is one effective method for teaching yourself how to read actively and get the
most
out of your textual material.
P stands for Preview, Q for question, and the 4 R’s: Read, Reflect, Recite, Review. Lets
examine these steps in more detail.
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Previewing:
Previewing is the first step to our active reading method.
While previewing a chapter, skim through the chapter, making note of section
headings and
subheadings, and bolded or italicized terminology. Also take this opportunity to skim
through the chapter introduction, as well as the chapter summary—if there is one.
If there are no headings in your books, read the first and last sentence of your
chapter, or
paragraphs within the chapter.
The purpose of previewing your chapter is to familiarize yourself with the material
you are
about to learn, and to develop questions on the topic—you should have some
questions,
especially if you’re staying on top of things and reading the chapter before your
lectures.
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After you’ve previewed the chapter you are about to read, take a few moments to
record
the questions you have on a sheet of paper. What is it that you want to know about
this
material? What was unfamiliar to you about the topic—perhaps there were a number
of
unfamiliar key terms.
A simple way to begin developing questions about the material is to use the chapter
headings and subheadings as a stepping stone, or to use chapter summary questions
to get
you started. For example, if a heading in your chapter reads: “Three Options:
Militarism,
Pacifism, and Defence” an easy question to get you started might be “what is
Pacifism?”.
While this is a good start, you should be trying to engage the material even
more….for
example, a higher order question using the same chapter heading might be “how
does
Pacifism differ from Militarism?” or “In what socio-political situations has Pacifism
been
implemented?” “What aspects of Militarism make it a more viable option in the eyes
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of
those who adhere to this ethical principle”
As you can see, the more detailed or challenging questions will require you to think
about
the material more in order to find an answer to your question. This will help you
maintain
your focus.
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Now that you’ve previewed the chapter, and taken some time to develop some well
thought out questions on the material it’s time to actually get the reading underway!
While reading your chapter, try to focus in on the main ideas and themes that are
being
presented. Pay attention to the examples that the text offers.
Once you have completed your chapter, or the section of the chapter that you’ve set
out to
read, take some time to reflect on the information that you’ve acquired. Look to the
questions that you created during the preview section of your study session and take
some
time to answer them as best you can.
Think back to the examples that were presented to you throughout the chapter and
try to
see if you can come up with your own examples to test your understanding of the
material.
The more personal an example you can come up with the better you will do at
integrating
the new information into your memory for greater recall when it comes time to be
tested.
Also take some time to try and make connections between the new information, and
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information you already have on this material—how does what you just learned fit
with
what you learned in previous chapters or lectures? Does it support your previous
knowledge, or are there aspects that contradict? If so, why do you think that might
be?
This process can also help you to develop some well-thought out questions for your
next
lecture!
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Before continuing on to the recitation portion of your study session, take a welldeserved
break—10 to 15 minutes should do. When you sit down again, take up to five
minutes, and
without referring to your text book or to your notes, write down everything that you
remember. This can be done in point form if you’d prefer, or in paragraph form. Once
you’ve done this, compare your recitation notes to your text book—was there
anything
that you forgot?
Finally, review is an essential part in recalling information in the future. It is essential
that
regular reviewing becomes a part of your daily and weekly study regime, as this will
save
you time when it comes to preparing for exams. Keep your questions written out, and
return to them a day or two after you’ve read your chapter. Are you still able to
answer
them?
Constant review will also point out gaps in your understanding, allowing you to return
to
material to go over difficult concepts long before final exam panic sets in. The review
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portion of your study session should only take from 10 to 30 minutes.
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Although we’ve spent a lot of time discussing active reading, and the PQ4R method,
it is
also essential to take useful and well thought out notes during your study sessions.
Many of us will sit down to read a chapter, and highlight away, or write down each
statement that seems important immediately after reading it. We feel like this is
saving us
time. In the long run, however, this method actually leaves us with a pile of notes that
really aren’t all that important or useful. In this mode, we’ll write down everything,
even
things that we may already know!
So how do you take effective notes from your text books? Instead of highlighting or
writing
out your points while you’re reading a section, first read the section (be it a heading,
or a
subheading), and once you’ve read the entire section, or paragraph, write out some
notes
on a separate sheet of paper. Think back to the recitation exercise that you’ve just
completed, these can often become your condensed notes.
You want to minimize the amount of useless information in your notes, to save time
when
you are reviewing for exams and assignments. Try to pinpoint the central message of
a
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paragraph—what is the author trying to tell you? Often, you will find this near the
beginning of the paragraph, with the remaining material being a (sometimes lengthy)
explanation of the authors perspective.
Also make note of a key example to help clarify your understanding of a concept. Do
not,
however, makes notes on each and every example that is offered—there will usually
be
several.
When you come across a word that is unfamiliar to you, record it in a running
glossary for
that course.
If describing a relationship, for example, it may be useful to recreate a simple diagram
or
flowchart.
And finally, stay organized! Colour code your notes, give your notes titles that include
the
date, and the note page number (otherwise you will invariably lose them at some
point),
and make a note of the page within the text where you can find helpful information.
Keep these notes in a loose leaf binder, so that it is easy to include them with your
lecture
notes and handouts.
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It is not easy to simply start using new study strategies, and it takes time and practise
to
develop new habits. At first, new study techniques may seem tedious, and you may
feel like
the time you’re spending that task could be put to better use. Rest assured that it
takes
time to develop all new habits, and after some time you’ll find it becomes easier and
less
of a burden with each passing week.
Don’t give up!
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For more assistance, visit our website, stop by the Study Skills Office, or call to book
an
appointment—you’ll be glad you did!
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